Saint Germain en Laye: Paris Day Trip
If you’re looking for a view of Paris that doesn’t involve bumping elbows with a lot of tourists — plus you like archaeology and French history — Saint Germain en Laye is worth a visit. It’s famous for a 2.4-kilometre stone terrace built in the late 1600s that allows onlookers to gaze over the Seine river valley and Paris in the distance. But that’s not the only thing this town has going for it.
An old royal town, the chateau of Saint Germaine en Laye was the residence of a variety of French monarchs from the Middle Ages up until the French Revolution. Louis XIV, the French monarch known as “The Sun King,” was also born within this chateau’s many rooms.
Nowadays visitors can tour the royal Gothic chapel and wander around the gardens. The chateau itself has been since converted into the National Archeology Museum (Musée d’Archeologie Nationale), but it is no less interesting. The museum features a sprawling collection of antiquities from France, from the pre-historic period up to the early Middle Ages. One of the most fascinating pieces is la Dame de Brassempouy, a 25,000-year-old ivory statue that is one of the earliest representations of a human face ever found by archaeologists.
While a ticket to see the chapel and the archaeology exhibition is €7, this museum, like many in the Paris region, is free the first Sunday of every month. But because it’s out in the suburbs, unlike many Parisian museums, it doesn’t get nearly as crowded.
Logistics
Travel time:
30 minutes from central Paris
How to get there:
Take the RER A to Saint Germain en Laye.
Travel cost:
€4 one-way from Paris RER station Chatelet Les Halles.
Other day trips
This is just one of our recommended day trips from our guide to “Fantastic Day Trips less than an Hour from Paris”. Click below to read more:
• The Saint Denis Cathedral and market
• Chateau de Vincennes and Parc Floral
